2000
#7,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,937
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Boe
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an ancestral origin near a curved or arched bridge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,364 Americans carry the last name Boe. That puts it at #8,328 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,541 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boe surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Boe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,541
Census rank
#8,328
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,806 bearers of the surname Boe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8328th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boe
The surname Boe is believed to have originated in Norway during the Viking age, between the 8th and 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "boer," meaning "farmer" or "dweller." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived or worked on a farm or in a rural area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boe can be found in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript that documents the settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries. The manuscript mentions a man named Boe Thorstein, who is said to have settled in the region of Borgarfjörður in western Iceland around the year 900.
During the Middle Ages, the name Boe appears to have spread to other parts of Scandinavia, including Sweden and Denmark. In the 14th century, a Swedish man named Erik Boe is recorded as having served as a member of the royal guard under King Magnus IV.
In the 16th century, the name Boe can be found in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands, suggesting that it may have been brought to the region by Scandinavian settlers or traders. One notable individual from this period is the Dutch artist Pieter Boe, who was born in Amsterdam in 1548 and is known for his landscape paintings.
The name Boe also made its way to England, where it can be found in various historical records from the 17th century onwards. In 1637, a man named John Boe is recorded as having been baptized in the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields in London.
Other notable individuals with the surname Boe include the Norwegian explorer and writer Jens Boe, who was born in 1830 and is best known for his expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic regions. The Scottish philosopher and historian David Boe, born in 1795, was a prominent figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and wrote extensively on the history and culture of Scotland.
In the 20th century, the American author and playwright Charles Boe, who was born in 1905, gained recognition for his works exploring themes of social justice and racial equality. Additionally, the Norwegian physicist and Nobel laureate Ivar Boe, born in 1904, made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and is remembered for his groundbreaking research on radioactivity and atomic structure.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boe
Among Census respondents with the surname Boe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Boe bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Boe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 3,371
- Two or more races3.1% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 100
- Black or African American2.1% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boe
Boe appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,556
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,850
-87 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 774 places
2020
#8,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,806
-44 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Up 228 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,782 | 3,937 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,556 | 3,850 | 1.31 | -87 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 774 places |
| 2020 | #8,328 | 3,806 | 1.27 | -44 bearers (-1.1%) | Up 228 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Boe surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,556 | #8,328 | 2.7% |
| Count | 3,850 | 3,806 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 1.27 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boe bearers went from 3,850 to 3,806 (-1.1% change). The surname moved up 228 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,556 to #8,328.
FAQ
Boe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boe?
Name Census estimates that about 4,364 living Americans carry the surname Boe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,541 residents.
How common is Boe?
Boe ranks #8,328 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,806 people with the surname Boe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,364), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Boe.
Has Boe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boe went from 3,850 recorded bearers to 3,806. That is a decrease of 44 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,556 to #8,328.
What does the Census say about the background of Boe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Boe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (3,371 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Boe (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Boe mean?
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an ancestral origin near a curved or arched bridge. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Boe (1.27 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Boe?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.